THERE is one woman who could cause Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, more problems than Hillary Clinton in the race for the White House: she is Donna Hanover, his second wife, writes Sarah Baxter.

Hanover, an actress and broadcaster, was enraged by Giulianis flagrant infidelity towards the end of their 18-year marriage and the divorce case was vicious. Giulianis advisers fear that she could be a loose cannon in the 2008 campaign.

Giuliani was acclaimed as the mayor of America for his heroic role during the attacks on September 11, 2001 and is revered for his leadership. At the time he was living in the spare room of an apartment belonging to gay friends after Hanover forced him out of Gracie Mansion, the official residence.

Hanover refused to confirm that she would vote for Giuliani as mayor of New York even when she was married to him. What kind of wife is that? Raoul Felder, Giulianis lawyer, fumed. Shes essentially saying shes not going to vote for him.

Hanover once stood outside a shower at Gracie Mansion, expecting to confront Judith Nathan, Giulianis mistress, now his third wife. In the event, a startled golfing friend of Giulianis emerged.

Hanover was also accused of a lack of sympathy while the former mayor was battling prostate cancer, by banishing him to a spare bedroom and exercising noisily on a treadmill at 5am.

New Yorkers relished the details of Giulianis larger-than-life personal story. But conservative values voters could be different, as Giulianis own aides noted in a 140-page memo leaked last week by supporters of a rival candidate.

The campaign dossier suggested that Hanover could be one of several potentially insurmountable vulnerabilities that could cause him to drop out of the race. It was an embarrassing start to a campaign that is not yet officially under way.

Giulianis record in fighting crime and terrorism has placed him at the top of several polls for the 2008 Republican nomination, edging out Senator John McCain in popular support. But the party base may be turned off by his support for abortion, immigration, gun control and gay rights (although not gay marriage). It is their votes that he needs to secure the nomination.

It would be one thing if Giuliani could say, Im a strong social conservative in my private life, but he cant even say that, said Ramesh Ponnuru, a conservative commentator and author of The Party of Death, an attack on social liberalism. Its not just the fact of his multiple marriages, it is the way the Hanover marriage melted down. It was operatic.

When Giuliani met Hanover on a blind date in the early 1980s, his first marriage to Regina, his second cousin, was already over. Hanover, who went on to appear in the television series Ally McBeal, was a glamorous soulmate who seemed to enjoy the spotlight as much as he did.

They had two children, Andrew, 21, and Caroline, 17, but in 1996 Hanover stopped calling herself by his last name and a year later Vanity Fair magazine said that he was having an intimate relationship with a senior member of his staff.

In 2000, without telling Hanover first, Giuliani announced at a press conference that he was separating from her. She retaliated by accusing him of being unfaithful with the employee, but he was already with Nathan.

Maggie Gallagher, a family values campaigner, was outraged by Giulianis scummy performance, accusing him of making Bill Clinton look good as a husband and father.

New Yorkers learnt during the divorce case that their cancer- afflicted mayor was temporarily impotent and Hanover demanded a huge settlement, including £760 a month to care for Goalie, the familys golden retriever.

Felder struck back, accusing Hanover of being an uncaring mother who was howling like a stuck pig.

In the end Giuliani, who was beginning to earn big consultancy fees after September 11, agreed to a settlement of $6.8m to avoid the full horror of a court case.

Hanover has married Ed Oster, her university sweetheart, and written a book, My Boyfriends Back, about rekindling an old romance. Even if she stays mum, there is enough in the public domain to rattle conservatives. Yet however vicious the personal attacks on Giuliani, they are unlikely to dent his reputation for competence. He did, after all, handle the September 11 attacks while bunking with gay friends in the midst of an affair and a divorce battle.

"And, there are Rudy supporters on FR who decry Newt's "personal baggage." Rudy is no different, just much farther to the left."

I like Rudy but his baggage is many times worse than Newt's. Newt has a messy period in his history, but Rudy sounds like he has basic character and judgment flaws that are a big part of who he is, and that ain't good.

"Hanover once stood outside a shower at Gracie Mansion, expecting to confront Judith Nathan, Giulianis mistress, now his third wife. In the event, a startled golfing friend of Giulianis emerged." Great scene. Could be even made into a campaign commercial with a theme: "See what kind of cranks he's had to handle? What is an ahmadinejad compared to THAT?"

Incest, according to Webster: sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry; also : the statutory crime of such a relationship Marrying a 2nd cousin isn't incest.

I wasn't aware of that. Truly despicable. I can't say I've walked a mile in the man's shoes, but to abandon my poor wife because she becomes crippled...

Of course you weren't. The MSM is always covering for him. He spins what happened by "taking responsibility" for the end of the marriage, attributing it to his "immaturity and bad behavior." That makes it sound like she divorced him. She didn't; he dumped her. From what I have been able to find, she was devastated. Still she has so much class she says only kind things about the jerk. (Well, he is the father of her three children.)

Even if I have to accept a guy like Romney.

I do not have a problem voting for Romney if he is the nominee (although I worry about his electability). I feel he is fundamentally a good and decent man.

Marrying a 2nd cousin isn't incest according to any legal definition or according to Webster's Dictionary : sexual intercourse between persons so closely related that they are forbidden by law to marry; also : the statutory crime of such a relationship.

He was with his wife when I met him a few months ago, they seem very happy together...and very normal as well. Are we going to hold past mistakes against candidates forever? There is no one who will pass the test of a totally error-free life and especialy when looked at with such scrutiny and criticism, as well as the exaggeration of haters in the media and even his own party.

I have two female second cousins that I know well. The idea of sex with them is unthinkable, since we played together as little kids. Anyone who is friends with a second cousin of the opposite sex will (like me) be sickened by this.

As a matter of fact, I remember the current Mrs. G living in Gracie Mansion while Rudy was still married to #2, and unless you are such an "old" friend that your memory has totally failed, you should too. It was quite the scandal.

I don't understand why anyone on FR would want someone who is so far to the left of any GOP presidential candidate in history to seek that office on the GOP ticket.

The idea of sex with them is unthinkable,... You and I have the same point of view on the matter. I'm simply saying that people can legitimately beat up Giuiliani without resorting to dishonesty. Marriage to a 2nd cousin is not incest. It's not illegal. Medicine doesn't discourage it, last I read.

Oh yeah, McCain is just a WONDERFUL guy, he divorced the wife who waited faithfully (a woman who was crippled) while he was a POW and immediately married the daughter of a very wealthy man and ran for office. The daughter ended up a few years ago accused of stealing drugs from a charity but got off because she was "addicted". Yeah, McCain is a real saint he is.

92
posted on 01/07/2007 12:49:33 PM PST
by McGavin999
(Don't be a Freeploader, contribute to the upkeep of FreeRepublic)

Hanover is a loose cannon. She was a newsbabe in south Florida back in the early 80s, I think. She was pretty unhinged even back then...lots of rumors about her off-camera life. A hottie, for sure, but something of a head case, too....

THERE IS NOTHING that can change these "Rudy for President" Freepers opinions. They support him because they are Liberal. They are part of the shift in America to the left. Thanks to their support, America going to have a tough time in the next 20 years.

Lets crush those stupid conservative voters and openly support a Liberal for the GOP two years out!

"The MSM will viciously attack every Republican contender except for McCain. After he gets the nomination, they will viciously attack McCain."

And we will hear: 1.That people who won't vote for Hilary or Obama are sexist or racist. 2. Made to fell guilty that after all these years, America still has not elected a woman or a "African American" president. 3. That Mormons have weird beliefs.

"We're not voting for a saint or a virgin, we're voting for someone who's tough and smart and electable."

Concur about the saint/virgin part, but tough/smart/electable doesn't mean squat unless the politics of the candidate in question are conservative. .....and Rudy's qualifications on that front are highly questionable, to put it mildly.

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